After trading Oskar Sundqvist to the Detroit Red Wings before the 2022 trade deadline, it felt like a return to the St. Louis Blues would happen eventually. That time has come, as the Blues have signed Sundqvist to a one-year deal worth $775,000. This is the second returning free-agent signing of the summer after the team signed Mackenzie MacEachern during what’s been a quiet free-agency period for the club.
Related: 2023 NHL Free Agency Tracker
Sundqvist returns after spending time with the Red Wings and Minnesota Wild over the past two seasons. While plenty of fans wanted the Blues to bring back Ryan O’Reilly, they will likely be happy to settle for a Sundqvist reunion, and this signing makes a lot of sense for both sides.
Fan Favorite Returns to St. Louis
After seeing limited time over two seasons with the Pittsburgh Penguins to start his career, the Blues acquired Sundqvist in the 2017 deal that sent Ryan Reaves to Pittsburgh. He quickly became a staple of the Blues’ bottom six and assimilated himself into the St. Louis culture.
He spent four and a half seasons with the club before the trade and made a major impact, especially during their Stanley Cup run in 2019, and the team now has two-thirds of the Blues’ infamous identity line of Sundqvist, Ivan Barbashev, and Alexander Steen back with the organization; Steen returned to the Blues as a player development consultant in Europe. It’s a shame that the Blues can’t afford to bring Barbashev back, but he’s on to bigger and better things with the Vegas Golden Knights.
Before he tore his ACL in 2020-21, Sundqvist had been playing at an elite level for many seasons. He hasn’t regained his form since then, but he could do so with a return to St. Louis. In 2018-19 and 2019-20, he score 26 goals and 54 points in 131 games. If he can find half of that offensive output, this will be a successful signing.
Sundqvist’s Return Solidifies Blues’ Center Depth
Sundqvist will also provide depth to the center position after the team added Kevin Hayes in a trade with the Philadelphia Flyers. On top of those two, the Blues also have Robert Thomas, Brayden Schenn, Nikita Alexandrov, Nathan Walker, and prospects Zachary Bolduc and Zach Dean as potential options this season. I don’t expect Bolduc and Dean to make the jump quite yet, but they are knocking on the door.
Head coach Craig Berube loves having Sundqvist in his lineup, which has been well-documented. Part of that support is why I expect Sundqvist to be the fourth-line center when the Blues open their season against the Dallas Stars on Oct. 12. It’s going to be a heck of a battle between Alexandrov and Sundqvist for that spot, but a fourth line that includes Sundqvist, Sammy Blais, and Alexey Toropchenko is exciting.
This is a terrific signing for the Blues. Worth the league minimum, and given his familiarity with Berube’s system, this deal should benefit both sides. The team needed one more veteran center, and he fits the bill in more ways than one. There will be heavy competition between several depth forwards at training camp, and Sundqvist has been added to the list.